In a darkened studio at Boulder's Garkie
Group, the blue glow of a television screen fills the room. As a technician
makes final adjustments to the video, eerie images flicker on the screens.

In one, a police
officer appears. In another, a child's drawing illustrates a dark home
life. His father is pictured as a monster. His mother is locked in a dog
kennel.

The scenes are
from a documentary by Boulder resident Lori Joyce called "Shattered Lives."
The film is about domestic violence, and is nearly ready for release.

Joyce, a producer
and owner of Idanha Films in Boulder, hopes to hold the premier in conjunction
with a benefit sometime in October, which is domestic violence month.
Joyce said she has sent an early draft to PBS for consideration on the
show "Point of View." One of her earlier films, "In Remembrance of Martin,"
a documentary about Martin Luther King Jr., aired nationally on PBS for
three years.

Joyce has been
making documentaries since the early 1980s, when she focused mainly on
peace and justice issues. She made films then about King, nuclear weapons
and the unrest in South America.

But despite the
magnitude of the topics she worked with, Joyce was drawn to a much less
obvious, though equally important form of violence.

"I suddenly realized
through my own personal relationships and relationships my daughters were
getting into that there was no way to have peace in the world as long
as we have violence in the home," said Joyce.

Joyce decided that
the best way she could contribute to ending domestic violence was to "start
the education process." Being a documentary filmmaker, "Shattered Lives"
was the obvious catalyst for change.

Joyce has hoed
a tough row since writing the script for "Shattered Lives" in 1994. Though
domestic violence seems to be everywhere, Joyce said most people are not
comfortable confronting it.

"Most people have
been exposed to domestic violence or witnessed family violence," said
Joyce. "Almost everybody that I talk to on the street, if the subject
comes up, they've been involved in an abusive relationship or they know
someone who has," she said.

Even though the
issue is one that many people are familiar with from firsthand experience
Joyce said raising funds for the film has been difficult. She said she
has never had as much trouble raising money for a film as she has for
"Shattered Lives."

"I believe is is
because there is still quite a bit of denial," said Joyce.

Joyce said she
has not been able to raise all of the money she needs for the film. She
said she has paid for much of it through deferred payment, and hopes to
get corporate sponsor.

"Shattered Lives"
examines domestic violence from several different angles. One aspect of
domestic violence the film deals with is the effect violence in the home
has on children. Joyce said children who are exposed to domestic violence
are more likely to become abusive adults or seek our abusive partners.

Through her documentary,
Joyce hopes to help end such cycles of abuse. The video shows the steps
necessary to do this.

"You can break
the cycle and choose healthy relationships," she said. "Its an educational
piece, but we have shown that we can move beyond this (cycle of violence)."

The video also
deals with steps being taken by law enforcement and the community to end
domestic violence and reach out to violent offenders to help them change.

Although the film
is meant to do good, facing the issue of domestic violence on a daily
basis was not always easy, Joyce said.

"You have to keep
looking at the footage over and over again," she said, adding she sometimes
became disturbed by the image she captured. "It's been a real emotional
roller coaster."